|
Early Iraqi Blogger reports on Election progress
Iraq the Model:11:01 Okay, weâre about to go to cast our votes now and then weâll hopefully be posting updates but for now, the spokesman of the Iraqi electoral independent commission said in a press conference a few minutes ago that no sizable attacks were reported so far except for some gunfire in Al-Dora district near one voting office. Actually, Baghdad sounds so quiet so far. Updates (2:45 pm local time): -An official of the electoral commission announced that voters in any given province can cast their votes at any station within the borders of that province; this can make reaching the stations easier for some people who live far from their originally designated stations. -Another electoral commissionâs official in Erbil said that turnout in Erbil is light so far and he attributed that to the âconcessions made by the Kurdish parties which Kurdish voters did not see appropriateâ. -170,000 votes were cast in the first 3 hours in Kirkuk, thatâs around one quarter of the registered voters in the city. -One attack was reported in Hilla; three armed men attacked a voting office but Iraqi security men were able to arrest the attackers. Nothing reported damaged in the office, one attacker was shot in the foot! -Voting stations in Tal Afar are open but no reports on the turnout in the town, however the local officials of the electoral commission in Mosul said that the number of voters who turned out in the city is a âsurpriseâ. Just said my YES...(updated) Probably the worst thing today is the intense heat which was a little over 100f but that didnât stop the crowds from walking in the sun to the voting stations, I personally had to walk nearly 4 miles in total but itâs definitely worth the effort. The presence of Iraqi army and police units is heavier than it was in January elections and I also noticed that no multinational forces were on the streets and the only sign for their presence was the helicopters that patrolled the skies. The turnout in our district looks quiet good and actually going to the voting office was a good opportunity to meet some friends I havenât seen in months. I met one friend on the way and when I asked him what would his vote be he said that he hasnât decided yet âif I voted yes I would be approving some articles that I donât agree with and if I voted no we would go back to where we started fromâŠâ he said and that was really refreshing because this guy who used to believe in conspiracy theories and stuff like âwhat America wants is whatâs going to happenâ now feels that his vote can make a difference. Generally speaking, the process is going smoothly so far and this is encouraging because terrorists usually concentrate their attacks before noon so hopefully it will continue like this for the rest of the day. Hammorabi Historic Day in Iraq Voting by Yes or No for the constitution is in progress now in all parts of Iraq. The number of voters exceeded the expected limits especially in areas like Mosel which had low turn out in the last election. Voting stations received large numbers in the Sunni areas including Ramadi, Falluja and Diyala. No major problems until now and the voters are free to cast their votes. This is the first time for the Iraqis to vote for their own constitution. It is indeed the first time in the Middle East especially the Arab countries. We expect a big YES for the constitution possibly around 80%. This YES is a big bullet in the head of the terrorism. This is a historic day and the political process moving forward in spite of the efforts of all of the evils to disable or delay it. Posted by: DanNY 2005-10-15 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=132260 |